The Very Group's Skygate automated fulfilment centre produces results over Christmas and Black Friday period

The Very Group, a digital retailer chaired by former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, has released its Christmas and Black Friday period trading results for the seven weeks to 27th December 2024.

Sales at core brand Very rose 2.3% year-on-year, with overall group retail sales up 0.5%. Excluding the impact of Nike sales, Very UK sales rose by 4.5%, and group sales grew by 2.8%.

6.9 million items were processed at Skygate, the group’s automated fulfilment centre. 218,000 items were processed on 29th November, the busiest day of its peak period, and beating last year’s busiest day of 205,000 items. 

The fastest order during the peak period was processed and despatched in 16 minutes. The Very Group says it maintained its next day delivery service throughout the peak period, with a cut-off of 7pm on 23rd December for delivery before Christmas.

Robbie Feather, Group CEO at The Very Group, says: “Christmas is a special time for our customers, and we at The Very Group are proud to help families make the most of the festive period. We’re delighted with our strong peak trading performance, which has been made possible thanks to the determination of our brilliant team who focus on helping families get more out of life, all while continuously enhancing the online shopping experience.”

“By bringing together our amazing assortment of products with compelling deals and our best-in-class fulfilment operation, we delivered growth in almost all categories, with games consoles, air fryers and perfume among our best sellers.”

He adds: “Customers left shopping later this year but when the time came, they made the most of our offering, with this momentum carrying on into our Boxing Day and January sales. Looking ahead, we remain focused on the rest of 2025 which we expect will remain highly competitive.”

“We are confident that our proposition, which combines multi-category digital retail and flexible ways to pay, will continue to be valued by our customers, providing them with a one-stop-shop for everything they need.”

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Online retail was a key focus area at the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering.